In 1898, due to his involvement in the Dreyfus Affair - the cause of a Jewish French army officer wrongly convicted of treason - Zola fled briefly to England to avoid prosecution for libel. He died at the height of his powers, from asphyxiation due to a clogged chimney. The incident is shrouded in mystery; there are still lingering suspicions that he was, in fact, murdered. On his death, the French nation mourned the loss of a great champion of the individual whose work has had a lasting influence on the development of both the novel and cinema world-wide.

MAJOR WORKS:
Les Rougon-Macquart, 20 volumes, including:
• L'Assommoir (The Drunkard)
• Nana
• Germinal
• La Terre (Earth)
• La Bete Humaine (The Human Beast)